As it turns out Johnson is going to follow the Benn Act and ask for an extension. The EU may moan and groan about it (I would, the Brits are being total arseholes) but the terms of Article 50 are pretty clear and they’re only at the stage where the computer asks, “Are you really, really sure you want me to do this incredibly stupid, destructive, and permanently impossible to fix thing you just told me to do?”
Yes, dammit. Oops.
This is why I keep a lot of data recovery software around.
Still, it represents a considerable climbdown if true (Boris once got notoriously stuck on a Zip Line). The likely outcome is the same it’s always been which is why I don’t write about it so much- snap elections that the Tories will lose with any luck, a re-negotiation for closer Norwegian-style ties (making Brexit kind of pointless except for losing your veto power which is stupid but whatever) and a re-vote on Brexit as a concept with the Corbyn, Johnson, and May plans on the table to muddy things up as well as Leave Cold and Remain (the most sensible course of action, there is a Left case to make- this is not it).
Boris Johnson ‘will ask EU for extension’ if no Brexit deal by Saturday
by Rajeev Syal and Rowena Mason, The Guardian
Wed 16 Oct 2019
The Brexit secretary has indicated Boris Johnson will send a letter to the EU seeking an extension if there is no agreement by Saturday.
Pressed by the Brexit select committee as to whether the prime minister would obey the Benn act, Stephen Barclay said the government “will abide by that text”.
He also denied knowledge of any plan to send a second letter to Brussels asking officials to ignore the first because the government did not want an extension.
The legislation passed by MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit requires the prime minister to ask the EU to extend article 50 beyond 31 October should a deal not be agreed by 19 October.
UK negotiators resumed talks on Wednesday morning after wrapping up their previous session in the early hours as they search for an agreement ready for a meeting of EU leaders on Thursday.
If Johnson fails to achieve a deal by the weekend, he will clash with MPs, who will demand he complies with the Benn act and asks for an extension, something he has repeatedly ruled out.
Hilary Benn, the chair of the committee, asked Barclay: “Can you confirm if there is no agreement reached which is approved by parliament on Saturday that by the end of the day the PM will write the letter?”
Barclay replied: “I can confirm as the PM has repeatedly set out that firstly the government will comply with the law. And secondly, the government will comply with undertakings given to the court in respect of the law.”
Benn pointed out the undertaking given to the court was that Johnson would send a letter if specific conditions were not satisfied.
Barclay said: “I can confirm the government will abide by that text.”
The government told a Scottish court earlier this month the prime minister accepted he would have no choice but to send a letter. However, there have been repeated briefings from No 10 that claimed ministers have found a way to bypass the law.
Ministers have indicated the government could send a second letter asking the EU to ignore the first asking for an extension. The business secretary, Andrea Leadsom, asked by ITV’s Robert Peston last week if Johnson would send a second letter disavowing the first, replied: “Absolutely.”
Joanna Cherry, a Scottish National party MP and member of the committee, asked Barclay if there was a plan to send two letters. “I am not aware of any such plan,” he replied.
Robert Buckland, the justice secretary and lord chancellor, told another select committee he was committed to “upholding the rule of law” as its “guardian in cabinet”, promising this was a role he took extremely seriously.
His comments suggest he would not tolerate any move by Downing Street to disobey the law by refusing to stay within the strictures of the Benn act.
Buckland also dismissed calls from some Conservatives for a politically appointed judiciary following the supreme court’s ruling against Johnson’s suspension of parliament.
“The day we end with US-style confirmation hearings would be a very black day for our constitution. That sort of approach would be erroneous and based on an assumption that we were creating a constitutional in the UK,” he said.